NoA: I started writing this fic long before I first played Apollo Justice, so it takes place in an universe where Phoenix doesn't lose his badge or, at least, lose it after the events narrated here.
I structured the story to be as similar as possible to the original cases, hope you'll enjoy.
Disclaimer: I don't own Ace Attorney nor its characters. Well. Its main characters. Alicia, Patricia, Marco, Jeremy and Leslie all belong to me. Wooooah. Me so powerful.
Turnabout Betray: First Day
The weather was hot. Much hotter than Phoenix expected it to be, but you can't be too polemic when you decide to move around full dressed in the middle of July.
«Nick! I'm hungry!».
Phoenix sighed loudly, passing a tired hand over his tired face. Even his ever-spiking hair seemed to be suffering the heat, looking quite down. He started considering getting a summer version of his attorney attire, at the moment. Some short-sleeve shirt, not-sleeve jacket, Bermuda and flip-flop attire that could make him feel better and possibly not too stupid.
«I offered you an orange back at the studio. You refused», he explained calmly.
«But I wasn't hungry then, I'm hungry now!» replied the high-pitched voice.
Phoenix laughed a bit. «The great medium Maya Fey, heir of the spiritual channelling school of the Kurain Village, has lived twenty whole minute of her life without hunger!? Stop saying lies, you liar, nobody believes you».
Maya faked wrath, sticking her tongue out and moving faster. Her long black hair flied behind her with every step she took and her ribbon bounced frenetically, like a bunny tail. She was quite cute when irritated. A little bunny-Maya. They could rearranged her front hair to look like ears and she'd be perfect. Phoenix suppressed a giggle.
«Well, you should believe me», Maya pestered him. «Seriously tho, I'm really going to die any moment if you don't buy me anything. And please notice the "You – buy – me" part».
Phoenix groaned, his giggle smashed by the terrible heat plus Maya combo. «And here I thought you were being cute… We're not here to play, Maya. We're on a case».
The tired eyes of the tired attorney suddenly shone like two little black fires saying that magical word. Case. Phoenix Wright was on a case. He loved his work as an attorney and the mere idea of being working on something new made him feel good. Happy. Accomplished. It had been three years since his first trial and still he felt as energetic as the first day. Even more! At least now he didn't had to defend one of his best friends for their thirtieth murder accusation.
Maya waited for him to reach her again, then grabbed his arm, putting him out of his trance.
«Remind me what this is all about, Nick».
Phoenix cleared his throat, glad that she asked. «Patricia Jerkigan, 23. The body was found in the Marco Rossi's patisserie with evident signs of suffocation. The main suspect is Alicia Greenway, an employee of the patisserie aaaand-».
«And?».
«And Jerkigan's supposed bestfriend».
«So it's a angsty crime. A crime committed by hate and love. A terrible tragedy caused by envy and betray».
«And we don't believe not even a little bit of it».
«Not even a single bit… do we?».
Phoenix stopped in front of a large blue door, just slightly lighter than his suit. The sun was right over their head, the floor felt like lava under his feet and Maya's rebellious stomach made itself known. He really hoped the police centre had an air conditioner or something because either he died for the weather or Maya was going to eat him alive.
«We're listening to what the defendant has to say» he claimed, opening the door for Maya to go in, «and just once we're done we can really decide whether we believe it or not. For the moment let's say "no"».
«Because you're a true-friendship believer?», demanded the medium-in-training, turning her big eyes to him.
«No, because this way I'm more motivated!» answered the man, bringing a cute smile on his assistant's lips.
The two walked in silence to the front desk, asking permission to see the defendant. It was easier to breath now that that atrocious summer flea was left behind the closed door of the central, the smiles came more natural and even Phoenix's hair found the force to defy gravity once again.
«Let's start a beat» proclaimed the hitch-pitched voice of Maya, breaking the religious silence they were in.
«A beat?».
«Yeah. If the defendant is a strange guy, you buy me food?».
«And if she isn't?» asked Phoenix, turning his eyes to the sky, searching help.
The girl seemed to ponder the possibility for the first time now. «If she isn't… well, you buy me food!».
«This is not a beat, then!» sighed the poor attorney. «And it's also unfair… When did we even get a normal defendant to begin with?».
«Sister Iris wasn't actually all that bad» said Maya after a little thinking.
«She was the worst of them all» replied Phoenix, faster than he would have hoped. He hadn't found the strength to explain to Maya his relationship with Iris yet. For some reason he felt embarrassment every time the subject was called upon and the pain that those memories left in him were still too fresh for being recalled so easily. No, he needed more time to explain to the young Fey why Iris wasn't a normal defendant; not for him, at least.
«Okay» whispered the girl, letting the argument slid by. The glow in Phoenix's eyes kept her quite. «Oh look, we're arrived! Are you ready to buy me food?».
Phoenix sighed again, glad that she let Iris be. He sit down on the chair on the left, offering Maya the one next to him. The door on the other side of the glass opened just then, giving them the chance to see Alicia Greenway for the first time; her hair was extremely messy, an intricate amount of curls of a pitch black that reached her shoulder; the eyes, of the same colour and partially hidden behind the thick glasses, were unbelievably vivid and curious for a young girl accused of murder and kept in prison; the mouth too was strangely pointed upward, to the freckled cheeks and the small nose.
«Nice to meet you. My name is Phoenix Wright, I'm an attorney».
The girl smiled if possibly even wider. The eyebrows reached the hairline. «Are you going to defend me!?».
«That depends on you… on whether we believe you or not» said the attorney, clearing his throat embarrassed.
«Oh, but you should! I'm innocent after all!» she scream back.
Maya laughed and Phoenix didn't even need to turn toward her to know what she was thinking. Another strange guy, what a scoop. His salary would have been assaulted by Maya once again and he could just watch in horror as the money would have lowered and lowered and lowered.
«My name is Alicia Greenway and I would never hurt a mosquito» mumbled the girl behind the glass, focusing the attention on her. She started laughing. «That's the reason why Leslie and Patricia always called me "Allie Goodway", because I've always been extremely good to everyone. Or at least I think… I've never returned a book late to the library, ever! And I always helped old ladies getting on the other side of the road. I wasn't given a beautiful face, but I make up for it with a gentle nature and a kind attitude!».
«And a little dose of modesty», Phoenix added smiling. There was something so honest about this girl that it reminded him of Maggey Byrde and her dreamy clumsiness.
«I think you're actually pretty cute, Alicia». Maya started making strange arm gestures that were supposed to be supportive but were more of a pain for the poor Wright sit next to her, his ribs repetitively tortured but the pointy elbows.
The girl darkened in embarrassment. «Oh, you're so nice, but don't worry: I know what I look like, you don't have to lie to me. Now, Patty was the real beauty between us». Suddenly she stopped speaking, a dense silence impregnating the air. Her eyes were getting watering, her voice sounded broken; a neat contrast to her cheerful self. «What happened to her is really horrible. She's always been very nice to me, allowing me the pleasure of her company even though she was so popular. I've always been a loser but she said she didn't care and stayed by my side. I was so happy every time she called me her best friend…».
«Oh, Alicia…».
Phoenix turned his gaze to Maya, tears starting to form at the edge of her eyes. She knew better than anyone else what loosing someone dear was like, Alicia's story must had hit her harder than it had done with Phoenix himself.
«Miss Greenway. I know it's hard but you should try to collect yourself and tell us what happened».
The girl tried to dry a tear, letting her glasses fall miserably in the process. She would have seemed very funny if it wasn't such a tragic situation. «Are you defending me?», she demanded, picking the squared glasses from the ground.
«I think I will». Phoenix nodded. His smile was bright, Alicia's was brighter.
«Really? Thank you, I was getting desperate. They told me no one would have wanted to defend me because everything indicated I was the culprit and trying to convince the judge otherwise would have been useless!».
«I'm subscribed to hopeless case, it seems».
«I don't know how to thank you…».
«Telling us all what you can should be enough».
«I was working in the patisserie, as always» gushed Alicia, a newly found energy rising inside her and straight out throughout her mouth. «Marco Rossi's patisserie. The boss was out for some "urgent mission-commission", as he likes to call his errands; I was the only one in the building, no costumer either. It was… about 08:00 in the morning, not more. Patricia rushed in and proclaimed that she had absolute need to use the storehouse, so I let her in. She begged me not to follow her, and I was working after all, so I never left my position. Then Jeremy entered the patisserie nearly thirty minutes later, asking me if I knew where Patricia was».
«Jeremy…?», Maya questioned with a perplex face, interrupting the defendant.
Alicia gulped, before answering. She pretended to be as cool and easy with this answer as she had always been before but something in her tone betrayed her and her nervousness became evident: «Jeremy Cornell. He is… Patricia's boyfriend. Was Patricia's boyfriend…He entered the patisserie and said that he was looking for Patty; if I'd known where she'd gone, I should have said it to him immediately. I didn't see a reason to lie so I just told him: Patricia was in the storehouse and wanted to be left alone. I tried to convince him not to go in but he was taller and stronger than me... He basically burst through the bottom of the door… Than we saw it…».
«Miss Jerkigan's corpse?», Wright asked when Alicia stopped her narration.
«Yeah…» was her only answer.
«So it was Mr. Cornell that called the police».
«He believed I didn't want to show him the warehouse because I was hiding the corpse in it. I was the only person in the patisserie at the time of the crime and… and the cord around Patty's neck was the jumping cord I've been using these last years to keep fit… I never went into that storehouse, I don't know how this happened but I… I didn't do it… Patty… Patty was my best friend, I would have never done something so horrible to her…».
«Don't cry, don't cry! Here. Have a magical tissue». Maya pulled an imaginary tissue out of her sleeve, faking a giving gesture that could have never happened, given the glass dividing her from Miss Greenway. The latter's mouth corners curved anyway, the sadness just a bit less evident. In this moment Alicia Greenway looked like a proper twenty-three years old just accused of homicide, but though Phoenix would have never admitted it, he preferred the strangely solar Alicia better.
«She was the best of us all, but now she's gone. I've only got Leslie now…».
«Leslie?». Maya sure had a strange interest into one-name-composed questions.
«Didn't I tell you? Me and Patty, we had another best friend. Her names' Leslie Michaels and she's so cool I still can't believe she became my friend. She works in the fruit shop at the end of the road but when she heard what was going on she came running, trying to get me out of the car».
Phoenix gulped. «A suiciding move».
«She tried to defend me to the very end. People had to take her back because she was against the policemen driving me away».
Maya laughed, encouraging the girl in front of her with one of hers "true-friendship tantrums", but Phoenix was deep in thought. While Leslie was sure enough the most important person to Alicia right now, she shouldn't have been the only one; being Patricia her other best friend, the relationship between her and Patricia's boyfriend Jeremy should have been strong, and instead something brought the girl to the conclusion that only Leslie would have taken care of her from now on.
«What's your relationship with Mr. Cornell?» he asked out of the blue.
«P-P-Pardon?», asked she back, turning a strange tone of red.
«He was your best friend's boyfriend but he found no problem accusing you. He didn't believe you».
«His girlfriend had just died, Nick, he was probably just shocked», proposed Maya.
«Me and Jeremy were very good friends. I admired him a lot and tried my best never to disappoint him. He was very popular too, you know?».
«And what's his opinion about you?», Phoenix asked again.
The girl went silent, her face took a worried expression. She were seriously pondering the answer, which left Phoenix dubious: in these few minutes they'd spent together he came to the conclusion that Alicia Greenway was the most honest, spontaneous and simple girl he had ever met and if an answer didn't come out straight from her heart, then something was wrong. He just had to know what. What was keeping her from talking.
«We're now leaving», he decided to say instead, raising from the chair. Maya followed him.
«Are we going to the patisserie?».
«Yes. I would like to see the crime scene and pay visit to this "police-opposing" lady as well. Let's go, Maya».
The medium-in-training jumped on the spot, turning briefly toward Alicia before screaming a loud "Don't worry, we're gonna save you for sure!". Phoenix bended and moved out of the room. He didn't say it out loud but the thing he really wanted to do at the moment was talking with the only person who could have given him all the answers Alicia wasn't able to answer herself. The other face of that blood-tinted medal: Jeremy Cornell.
«Do you remember when I said you would have bought me food if you'd lost the bet and you actually lost?».
«More than I'd like to admit».
«Well Nick, your time has come».
Maya's eyes sparkled with a dangerous light as they inspected the sweets exposed on the shop window. They move rapidly and ferocious from a savoury pie to a profiterole, than back again to a muffin. As the police cars and the agents weren't there, she kept staring at the sweets.
«I'd love to do it, believe me, I'd really love», he lied, showing his attorney badge to one of the policemen, «but the shop won't open until all this issue of the killing is cleared».
Maya pouted and crossed her arms. «But this is unfair!».
Suddenly, a voice reached them from behind. It smelled like lilies and vanilla.
«Don't tell me, young lady. I can't leave the shop for one-just-one second and all my hard work is gone. Women don't like men who had even one-just-one homicide happening in their workplace, you know?».
Both of them turned in direction of the voice; it belonged to what looked like a trim and snobbish man, one of those lady-killers that should stay at least three meters away from Maya, thank you. His head was full of golden locks and the constant smirk on his face gave his hazel eyes a note of slyness and vivacity that –Phoenix was sure- caused many heart attacks. Even the clothes were perfect and looking at them also quite expensive. Phoenix wondered how he managed to wear them, tho, since it was extremely hot and they were extremely covering.
«My name's Phoenix Wright, may I ask yours?» he demanded, even if the slight accent in his voice suggested him the answer already.
«Marco Rossi, boss of the Marco Rossi's patisserie, thank you very much. Are you here for the sweets, for the crime… or for the hot boss?».
«The sweets!» screamed Maya, very loudly, at the same moment as Phoenix shouted «The crime».
Mr. Rossi blinked perplex, before opening in a large and maraudish grin. «I understand, you're both here for me, after all».
«Th-this is not what I said». Phoenix was stuttering, trying his best to avoid any contact with this strange man who was now begging for a hug. Maya, on the contrary, had no problem at all throwing herself into his arms, but Maya was Maya and that was no surprise. Not that he didn't bother the attorney nonetheless.
«You shouldn't run away like that, leaving me to hug one-just-one of you. Women don't like men who run away from them».
«He's right, Nick!», Maya's voice came from between the jacket of the employer. «That's why no one likes you, bleh bleh bleh».
«I'd like to look at the murder scene, now» Phoenix said, ignoring both his useless assistant and the creepy latin lover. «In quality of lawyer-».
«That's exactly because you're a lawyer that I'd rather have you splashed on my than inside my patisserie».
Wright found himself at loss of words for a moment, thinking that maybe if he'd drank only water for the next twenty years then finally he would have been rewarded with the acquaintance of a normal entity. «Pardon?!» was the only word he managed to formulate.
«If I can stop you from letting Alicia rot in prison… then I will!». Maybe not even twenty years were enough. Maybe not even forty would have done.
«We're not here to let Alicia rot in prison. We're her attorneys, our work is the total opposite, we're gonna save her and eat all her exquisite sweets!».
Marco turned his head to the girl still wrapped around his torso, her eyes shining. It looked like he believed Maya, because his grin lost a bit of his malice and his shoulder got tenderer.
«What a bless, I thought you were the prosecutor. I don't like people who don't like Alicia».
«Actually, I like Alicia quite a lot!» the young girl erupted, finally moving out of the hug.
«I know, she's amazing, isn't she?».
«She's just so sweet!».
«And kind!».
«And honest!».
«And you should eater her marrons glacés, they're the best of the world!».
«Really?».
Phoenix tried to suffocate a sigh in the suit, taking advantage of the distraction of both aliens to enter the building. He never found out if Miss Greenway's marrons glacés were really the best of the world but he really didn't care. He needed to check the murder scene or the trial the day after would have been a total massacre. In spite of the fact that Marco Rossi turned out to actually like the defendant, if he had appeared the day after as the witness Phoenix would have thrown himself out of the window. The way the man looked at him made Phoenix feel so… naked… He shivered. The only good thing was that the cold disgust was making him feel better about the weather. It didn't feel too hot anymore.
He put little attention to the patisserie's main room, moving as fast as he could to the storage. And then he started feeling nauseous.
Patricia Jerkigan's body was lying lifeless on the ground with a thick cord tied around her neck and a bunch of glass shredders scattered in her surroundings. The storage was a mess, like someone had used it to play football. With the boxes as the targets.
«I think is time to begin my investigation» the attorney said to himself. «Hey, agent!».
«Yes?».
«Could you please take photos of the crime scene for me, please?».
«Of course».
«Thank you very much».
Bending to the policeman, Phoenix finally moved to the centre of the action, ready to bring home every evidence available. He began by standing right next to the corpse. The shards of glasses were scattered all over the place, yet it seemed that none of it had hurt the victim, maintain their crystalline colour. On the contrary, the jumping cord used to suffocate the poor Patricia was completely dirty: some yellowish and sticky substance covered both the handles of the cord. Strangely enough, the rest of it was immaculate.
«What the hell is this?» Phoenix pondered, watching the substance closely. Was it… «…cream? Is it cream? It sure looks like it?».
He turned his gaze few meters away, spotting a series of fallen boxes containing profiteroles; some of these were broken, a great deal of cream, chocolate and pistachio melting down to the ground, helped by the devastating heat.
«I feel like one of those, at the moment…» he whispered; then he realized that if he really was a profiterole then Maya would have eaten him and the thought wasn't so appealing anymore. «Better go back to work… I just wonder who could do something so bad».
«I know, it's a total waste when girls so beautiful go so easily».
Phoenix jumped scared by the voice, tripping on a box and falling to the ground. Behind him, Mr. Rossi laughed devilish at him. «You sure get scared for a nothing».
«Nick, are you hurt?» asked Maya, trying her best not to laugh too. At least she was hugging that pathetic excuse for a breather anymore. «Hey, it's that profiteroles? I'm happy!».
«Maya stop, you cannot tamper the evidences!».
Mr. Rossi laughed louder, without control. «Because what do you think you're doing?».
I swear I hate this man, Phoenix thought. «Did you know the victim?», Phoenix asked.
The man stopped laughing, maintaining his constant smirk yet. He posed his eyes on the blonde girl lying lifelessly in his storage, the signs of the cord causing a terrible effect on the whiteness of her skin.
«Not directly».
«She was Alicia's friend so she must have been a very good girl too, don't you think?», Maya asked, before stuffing her mouth with sweets once more. Which part of "that's evidence" didn't she understand?
«I wouldn't be so sure» murmured the employer, looking, if possible, even slyer.
«What do you mean?». Phoenix didn't like that look.
Mr. Rossi scratched his neck before answering. «Kiss me and I tell you».
«Come again!?».
«Kiss me and I tell you».
«I'm sorry but I don't-I don't… I'm sorry but this is ag-against the law not help a la-lawyer do his work!».
His face became as red as a pepper and he tried his best not to hide behind Maya –who looked kind of purplish too. Just few meters away, the man moved closer.
«Don't be scared, baby. It's my job to make sure everyone is at ease».
«Nick, I didn't know you were interested in men», Maya commented. Her ears were basically on fire and instead of helping him out she just squatted down covering her face with her bare hands. «I won't judge you, don't worry. You're still the same old grumpy Nick to me!».
The lawyer didn't know what to say. A part of him wanted to know as much as he could, the other had already catalogued Mr Marco Rossi as "an entirely and undoubtedly different and dangerous entity" long ago, putting him as far away as possible from the entirely and undoubtedly different and dangerous lips of the entirely and undoubtedly different and dangerous man. It wasn't even about gender, he had already kissed a man –a long story he sure wasn't ready to tell anyone yet, expecially the giantly wide-mouthed Maya- this man just really crept the hell out of him and he liked his internal hell.
«You American sure are strange. Does physical contact really afraid you that much? Cavolo… That's the reason why you're so cold when it comes to one on one-just-one affairs».
Phoenix kept staying frozen on his spot. Was the man still laughing at him? Actually, he didn't know whether he was more irritated by the idea or kissing him or being laughed of by him. In doubt, he just kept hating him. And staying frozen.
«Hey, Marco!» Maya shouted. The little animal was calling him by his first name already… «Do you perhaps like Nick?».
«What!?» was Phoenix's immediate reaction, his heat elevating again.
Mr. Rossi laughed and pass a hand through his curly hair. «I'm a lover… of love». And he became extremely serious saying his last remark, more serious that he had even being before. That's way Phoenix hated him so much. That's exactly why.
«Are you going to be a witness at the trial, tomorrow?», examined the medium. Phoenix was glad she let the argument slid by.
Mr. Rossi scratched his neck again. «No, because I wasn't present at the time of the crime. But I'm cheering for you from the gallery. Alicia would have never done that».
Thinking about it, the attorney realized he didn't know Mr. Rossi's whereabouts during that period of time, so he decided to question him further.
«Alicia also said you weren't here. May I ask you were did you wander to, instead of taking care of the shop?».
He massaged his hair, looking relaxed. «You know», he began, «I don't really like rotting in the same place for a long time».
Phoenix watched him carefully. He seemed at peace with himself. Maybe too much. Maybe way too much.
«You met a girl, didn't you?», Phoenix concluded.
«I met a lot of girls. Not one-just-one. Accidenti, they were so beautiful! Leslie got mad at me because I was distracting her clients but if you ask me, it was worth it".
Both Maya and Phoenix sighed, hoping to get more information, but apparently he really didn't know anything. Then Phoenix realized. «Haven't we heard Leslie's name already?».
«She's Alicia's other best friend. She's… not interesting at all».
I would give an arm to be as uninteresting as her and pull you away from me, Phoenix thought.
«Weren't you a love lover, Marco?».
«Yes, my little flower, but even I know were to give up. Anyway, she sure knows more about Patricia than I do, you should go see her. I can give you her fruit stand address».
«That's very kind of you».
«In change of a kiss».
«I don't want to kiss you!».
«Nick, don't be rude».
Phoenix groaned. He closed his eyes, hoping for this madness to end. Maya, seeing that this kiss was not happening, went back to her previous position next the profiteroles, singing how good it was to tampering more with tampered evidences. Marco Rossi giggled.
«Do you perhaps happen to know where Mr. Cornell lives, too?».
«Do you mean Jeremy?». Mr. Rossi shook his head. «Looking for him is useless, he's probably talking with the prosecutor and won't leave the police station».
What a shame, Phoenix muttered, hopelessly. «But now that we're talking about it… You said something about the prosecutor in this case, when we first met. Do you have information about him?».
He would have never thought it was possible, but it really was: Mr. Rossi was laughing even louder than before. «Oh my. Ragazzo, you're an attorney and are asking a simple watcher who the prosecutor will be? You sure suck at your job!».
«I-I-I… I just asked you if you knew anything!». Phoenix decided it was better to bit his own tongue, otherwise he would have eaten Mr. Rossi alive. The same thing he want to do with me, he thought. Than he realised and tried his best not to suffocate as Miss Jerkigan had. «I haven't heard anything about him yet».
«It's not him, it's her», Marco explained, regaining his composure. «That's why I thought you were the prosecutors. I haven't seen her very well but she was in the car that took Jeremy away. She had black air and a very unfashionable clothing so when I saw the little flower over there I thought it was her».
«I'm the little flower!», Maya yelled, jumping into the conversation.
«You're more of a balloon fish if you continue eating all those sweets. Stop already».
The black-haired girl giggled and made a peace sign. «The last one, I swear».
She bit the profiterole with strength, its chocolate heart melting around her finger. There was a moment of silence, followed by a strange scream that scared both men. Instead of savouring her food as she should have, Maya was standing open-mouthed with tears forming in her eyes, the profiterole thrown with few grace on the ground.
«Ahi! I bit something hard» she managed to say with her tongue sticking out. «Am I hurt?».
Phoenix reached the ground and the sweet, taking it with two fingers. He knew food quite well and it didn't cut. Yet, inside that little piece of chocolate and pastry laid what looked like a square pearl, some very shiny and clear jewellery. «What is this?».
«Per l'amor del cielo, it's the first time I see something like that. Was it in my sweets? How did it even ended up in there?».
«So you have no idea what this is» Phoenix questioned, analysing the little gem.
«Is nobody paying attention to my wound?».
«You're just a bit red, Maya, shut up».
«Let's not the way men talk to women» Marco Rossi pouted. «However, no. I have no idea what it is, but I remember Leslie and Alicia having a discussion about pearls not too long ago».
«Leslie's name keep bumping into any conversation», was the comment of the medium.
«It does. Maybe it's really time we go talking with this uninteresting yet police-opposing woman».
The trio moved out of the room, going back to the patisserie's entrance. Marco gave them indications how to reach their destination, before putting his jacket on. «I'm not staying it with a corpse», he said.
«Thank you very much for your help. You're amazing, Marco!».
«The pleasure's all my, my dear».
Yes it is, was Phoenix's though, «See you tomorrow then», was what he said.
«Sì. You better win that trial, because Alicia is one-just-one in a million and if you fail I won't ever forgive you. Ever never».
«Don't worry». Phoenix's eyes shone, a bright light that irradiated from his face to all his body, giving he a new and powerful energy. «I won't».
The market was full of people and incredibly hot. Suddenly Phoenix missed the police station with all his being. The suit was becoming his second skin and one was already more than enough. The idea of getting a summer attire was sounding smarter and smarter in his mind.
«I can't see the fruit stand».
«Don't worry Maya, it's near. We have still some curves to take».
The people hit them at every step, transforming a simple walk into a state affair. And the sun was not helping at all. Phoenix cursed the old man who just bumped into him under his breath, trying to recollect himself. The good part was that they'd made a lot of progress with the case: they found many good evidences and, he was sure, some decisive one; and yes, the fact that Marco Rossi wasn't going to testifyturned him into an happy attorney. He sure was on their side, but there was something Larrish about him that made him look like the worst possible witness. He hoped Jeremy Cornell wouldn't have been too much of an effort.
«Ah, I see it, I see it!». Maya grabbed his arm with her hand, pointing the other one at a stand nearby.
It was a humble stall, a wood stand without any sign, but the fruit looked delicious. Like all the alike around it was surrounded by people, yet Leslie Michaels could be spotted quite easily thanks to her height. The only girl standing on the other side of the stall was indeed a very tall girl, with light-brown hair pulled behind in a horse-tail and sharp yet tired green eyes. She seemed bothered by something, angry too, but Phoenix came to the conclusion that it was only normal, considering that one of her best friend was murdered and the other was accused of said murder.
«Leslie Michaels, are you not?» he asked, approaching her.
«Do you find any good reason why a costumer could be standing here? Then yes, I'm her».
There was a sudden blink in Phoenix's mind and he pondered whether she was upset of the homicide or just plain irritating. Apparently, Alicia Greenway wasn't very good at choosing her friends.
«May I talk with you for a moment?».
«Wait your turn».
The situation was getting more and more exasperating, but Phoenix wasn't a patient man, not after all what he already had to deal with that day, at least.
«My name's Phoenix Wright, I'm working on the killing case of Patricia Jerkigan».
Leslie slowed down, giving the customer his apples with unnatural calm. She bit her downer lip. «Are you a lawyer, she asked?».
«I am», he answered and for a moment he felt accomplished. Just for a moment. The next one he was covered in watermelon juice and completely soaked.
«Then I have nothing to tell you», the girl calmly replied, cleaning her hands from the juice of the watermelon she had just smashed over Phoenix's head and turning back to the next customer. «Do you need anything else?».
«Red sure doesn't sweet you, Nick» Maya murmured, a bit worried but mostly amused by the situation.
«Shut up».
With delicacy, the attorney grabbed the watermelon stuck on his head and removed it. What a waste of food it was, but if he wanted to stay positive, now he wasn't feeling so hot anymore.
«It's the second time we're attacked for being attorneys», Maya commented, tacking this chance to devour part of the still eatable watermelon.
The seller suddenly turned to them. Slowly, naturally. «Wait. Are you attorneys?».
«Actually, I'm a medium in training», Maya explained, «but my friend Nick is working as a full-time attorney and he's better than he looks like».
«Thanks, Maya».
Leslie stared at them for a while, immobile, than turned back to the other side of the stand. «I'm sorry but I have to leave for a moment», she informed the clients. She turned back again and walked nearer Phoenix, who felt the urge to take a step back again. She didn't comment on his sudden retreat, offering him a towel to clean himself instead.
«I'm sorry for the watermelon. I thought you were the prosecution». The tone of her voice made it seem like she wasn't sorry at all.
Maya smiled brightly. «Well, I guess that if you let me finish the watermelon without making me pay for it, I can even forgive you.
«It's just that I can't stand people hurting Allie and tend to be grittier than necessary when it comes to her». Phoenix had a hard time trying to imagine this apathetic girl showing off some kind of wrathful attitude, but then the point where she hit him with the watermelon started to hurt and the police-opposing scene come back to mind.
«She told us about your row with the police. You really do care about her».
«We've been knowing each other for all our lives» she explained. «We went to the same elementary school, than the same middle and high school. She's like a scar, you can't remove it even if you want».
What a delightful simile, he thought.
«She doesn't seem a girl capable of killing», Maya said, her mouth stuffed with watermelon.
«She's too dumb for it» Leslie agreed.
«Are you sure you consider her a friend? Because you sound… insulting…».
Phoenix hoped his last remark hadn't granted him another hit with something blunter than a watermelon –like a pineapple perhaps- but her face remained illegible.
«Allie is a good girl» she said at last. «I've yet to find someone as nice and gentle as her. But she's also very naïve and naivety is not that great quality people like to pass it as. You end up defendant in a killing if you are too naïve».
«Still, you're very harsh with her».
«I know, but I want her to learn. People have been taking advantage of her all her life. But a thing is the seven-years-old boy who paint your face blue just to bother you, a completely different thing is a group of teenagers faking love in order to have your notes and look smart in from of the teacher just thanks to you. I can't stand watching her hurt anymore… Once their true nature is revealed, she still can't find the force to hate them, she fells for every excuse. "It was all a joke", "It's not our fault you're stupid",… "It's your fault"… It's about time she learns who she can trust and who she cannot trust. I can't stand watching her hurt anymore… ».
Maya gulped, sad. «Is it… something that really happened?».
«Yes, and it's not even the worst one. Were Patricia still alive, she would have told you many other stories» Leslie replied. The tone was still soft and placid but an intense rage came out of her throat, a silent protest that burned like fire. He would have never dared put her loyalty to her friend into discussion ever again. It was the purest and most intense demonstration of thoughtfulness he could have asked for.
«I understand how you feel« Phoenix said, before he could stop himself. The memories of all those years spent looking for Edgeworth came back to mind. «Seeing someone you care for suffer, trying your best to let them hear your voice, let them listen to you… but they're in too deep and can't listen. They can only miss, and miss again… And at the end you're two who suffer».
«Nick…».
«Miss Jerkigan's death is going to weight more than it should», he changed topic instead, putting the last part of the discussion at the end of his brain. «About it, where you at the time of the murder?».
«Do you suspect me of having assassinated Patricia?».
«I only want to be sure».
«I was right here» Leslie replied, pointing at the stand. «I have plenty of witness to my whereabouts. The only time I left was when that pathetic excuse for a worm that his Mr. Rossi called me while they were taking Allie in. Allie suffocating Patricia,… what a clowning».
«They said she was driven by envy. Miss Jerkigan was all what she wanted to be».
«Allie admired Patricia too much to do something like that» she interrupted him. For a moment she seemed mad, but she easily recollected her manners, spoking softer. «I'm sorry».
Phoenix nodded in agreement, waiting for her to calm down and, once she was done, posing the seller a question he's been meaning to ask for quite a while. «It's not the first time I notice, but you tend to call Miss Jerkigan by her full name».
Both women watched him directly in the eyes, both perplex.
«You always call Miss Greenway "Allie" and Miss Jerkigan "Patricia"».
«I'm just used to it».
«Strange. Because my client actually calls her "Patty"». Leslie's eyes got sharper. «Miss Michaels… Did you perhaps had some divergences with the victim?».
«Yes, we weren't exactly best friends anymore» she replied as it was nothing. «A normal reaction to what she did to Allie, if you ask me. Her and Jeremy… I don't know who disgusted me more».
«What does Mr. Cornell have to do with this?».
He expected the young girl to react stoically as always but, surprising, she seemed shocked by their question. In disbelief, too. «So she told you nothing, did she?» she asked at last. «About her and Jeremy».
The sudden remembrance of Alicia's reactions when asked about Mr. Cornell made Phoenix shiver. He had a bad feeling. «What about them?».
«Jeremy used to be Allie's boyfriend».
«WHAT!?» Maya and Phoenix shouted at the same time.
«B-B-But… Wasn't he Patricia's boyfriend?!».
«Lately, yes».
«I can't believe this…».
«Here, take a look» the girl offered, showing them a picture on her phone. In said photo, Alicia was smiling cheerfully to the camera, hugging a tall and charming boy. She looked happy.
«Is this Mr. Cornell?».
«Yes» Leslie simply said, putting the phone back.
«Now I understand her embarrassment» Maya commented.
«Yes, but she didn't show any trace of resentment toward him» Phoenix backed her up.
Leslie pouted disgusted, catching the attention of them both. «Of course not. The reason why Patricia and I weren't friend anymore, the worst betray ever happened to Alicia, the reason why she has to grow up… It all comes back to it».
«Miss Michaels. Can you please tell us the truth. The whole truth».
Seller and attorney watched each other right in the eyes for what felt like an eternity. Something glowed in Phoenix's irises, that unusual light that never actually left him but that sometime burned stronger than ever.
«I was the one to present Patricia to Alicia. She was my neighbour and thought she was vain and greedy she seemed to really enjoy our company. We were fourteen at the time. Allie was so happy… Patricia was the most popular girl in school and tried her best to make Allie feel important too. Not that she didn't act like a snobbish diva sometimes… She was crueller than I am and often hurt Allie with the main purpose of just hurting her».
«Did you ever confronted her for it?».
«We argued once or twice, but nothing that couldn't be forgotten with a simply "sorry". Things started to go bad only a few months ago».
«What happened?».
«Allie started seeing Jeremy. I don't know how it began but he showed interest in her and Allie fell for him like a fish in the net. He was her first boyfriend, you should have seen her, she was head over heels. Always talking about him, taking a lot of photos with him, imagining her future with him… me and Patricia, on the contrary, we weren't happy at all: he was a lady-killer and the ladies he killed were all stunning blonde beauties with kilometric legs and fair skins. To put it shortly, they were Patricia. The fact that such a popular boy had feeling for our Allie made both of us suspicious… and we were right. He played with her, Alicia was only a tool for him to reach his true goal: Patricia Jerkigan. And that double-faced pig played on his same team!».
«So she reciprocated him».
«It was the longing for something forbidden that instigated her. She showed her true nature, at last. But the worst part, that's yet to come. Allie never hated her. Once he said he did it all for Patricia, she didn't even hate Jeremy».
«But this is insane!» Maya yelled.
«I know, but to her that's just "obvious"».
«What do you mean?» Phoenix asked.
Leslie's lips turned upward. «Patricia is all Allie ever wanted to be… The fact that Jeremy chose her blonde friend over her, to Allie, is just "obvious". You don't know how many times I tried to make her reason, but nothing: she had no hard feelings of either of them… just for herself».
«This is so sad». Tears started to form in Maya's eyes. Alicia Greenway was indeed a very caring girl. Maybe not the most beautiful, but she possessed her own charisma too.
«Eventually, things got figured out. A leopard can't change its spots, and so Patricia couldn't change her nature. Once she managed to steal Jeremy from Allie, she got bored of him pretty quickly and then left him».
«Wait… weren't the two of them together? I thought they were still a couple; Miss Greenway said so». Phoenix tried his best to remember the conversation at the detention centre.
«Officially they were dating; truth is she soon started seeing other guys, much to his displeasure. I stopped talking to her as soon as the betray happened, but according to Alicia –who kept in touch- the times they fought were more numerous than the ones they had fun together».
«This is interesting» Phoenix declared. «Until now, Alicia's condition put her in disadvantage. But if as you state Jeremy and Patricia's relationship was this bad… than the story changes its finale».
Maya and Leslie watched him with curiosity. If Jeremy and Patricia's relationship was this bad, than there was another suspect who had more reasons than the defendant to kill Miss Jerkigan.
Phoenix raised his head to the sky. The blue of the day was getting darker, redder, sign that that day has passed by. It was a matter of hours and sleep now, then the fate of Alicia Greenway would have been decided. The more he thought about it, the more Phoenix couldn't stand the idea or that young girl going to prison. The more he thought about it, the more Phoenix identified Jeremy Cornell with the true killer. But it was still too soon to say. He didn't even know the name of the prosecutor yet. Tomorrow would have been a decisive day. Tomorrow would have changed his life more than Phoenix could believe.
Next chapter: The trial finally begins. Phoenix and Maya try their best to defend Alicia, but once the prosecutor is revelaed they find out she's even worse than they thought. A strange feeling grips Phoenix's heart as a strange woman suddenly appears...